Smite's (Same for Smite 2!) Most Comprehensive Guide: Protections And Penetration

[@SmiteMaths]

Please like Comment and Subscribe :) Any questions please ask!

[@janorriswillis1093]

Hey love the content, a lot of information that finally getting put out in ways we can understand. Could we get a video on Griffin wing? What build works well with it.

[@avthegreat1282]

@smitemaths please send the discord

[@LynR.M.1378]

Is there any chance you could make a guide for Jing Wei like you did with Charybdis and Hiem? It seems like she’s clearly supposed to be a crit based hunter but it doesn’t seem like D-Deathbringer is that strong of an option since her 2 doesn’t affect it.

[@SmiteMaths]

@@avthegreat1282 discord.gg/vh3g9xxp

[@stu233s]

could you do a video on maxing magical damage/pen combo ideally using zeus?

[@wolfpacksparadise2297]

Remember folks, none of this matters if you can’t hit anything, like me :)

[@aewon2085]

But also remember, this will help you do the most out of the 3 autos you will hit each game

[@avthegreat1282]

Play an assassin or warrior lol you’ll hit most…. Lmao that’s how I hit master

[@ewanmcc01]

Why do I keep seeing you in all my ranked games ffs

[@avthegreat1282]

@@ewanmcc01 because your just as good lol idk… what’s your username? Have you played against my mulan yet?

[@velkb228]

I waited 10 years for this guide. Thank you.

[@SmiteMaths]

Hahahaha, I was looking at other guides as research and I honestly couldn’t believe how vague they all were, I too can’t believe I’m the first person to do this it’s insane it took this long, thank you!

[@GamingDualities]

2020 account. i dont think so. dont forget to buy thebes tho

[@RyanScarbrough]

I've played Smite for years and never thought about penetration like this, especially gods with flat pen abilities/passives like Horus. Subscribed!

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for subbing!

[@jozefbercik9932]

give this man an award

[@dynasty7298]

Just found this channel. Cant wait to see smite 2 stuff. Been playing smote since 2016. Seeing the numbers like this is awesome

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@BasedChadman]

Protections - do nothing Penetration - negate almost all protections while also giving you damage because balance

[@LitBoy420]

Intersect does some math sometimes but its always flewn over my head. Thanks for this. It reframes the importance of pen and how to implement it, and WHEN/how to implement it.

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Yeah sometimes you’ve really got to read into the numbers to get useful insights, thanks for the comment!

[@kayule4945]

Really love the video, I always had a rough idea of the effect of pen but the comparison with power that you made really highlighted the drastic difference. My only small nitpick for future videos was that the music was kinda loud and repetitive. Great vid nonetheless, looking forward to more content.

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Yeah I’ve had a couple of notes on the music so I’ll try and improve that, thanks for the comment!!

[@Breadznbutter]

Thank you for this video no one really does in depth smite videos with numbers anymore

[@YeshuaEnjeru]

Because dukesloth was all math and theory but when he put the theory to a test he was really bad

[@Senuaaa]

Your content keeps getting better and better

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! I’m quite proud of this one hahahha

[@tevinhernandez227]

This is insane. Awesome work man

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you!!

[@mattgibney4085]

It’s real simple, this video goes really into depth which great but everyone should understand flat pen is early to mid game while percent pen is mid to late game. The builds are not that different from one another, I’m diamond1, been playing conquest for years. I enjoy it for fun but I do live the competitive side of it as well.

[@williammitchell6254]

Now for step 2, hitting a thana scythe

[@TyReedII]

This is an awesome breakdown. I have been wanting a video like this for years. I hate the fact that I would know I need to buy a certain item but didn't understand the why behind it

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah i completely understand, im really glad this helped with a deeper understanding!

[@NamuhYT]

Bro ive been playing smite for over 8 years and ive learned so much, like i already knew flat pen was strong early game but you really broke it down perfectly and wow im just stunned at the numbers

[@SmiteMaths]

@@NamuhYT glad you enjoyed :) and thanks!

[@kyleallen363]

This is incredible. A true lesson that takes me back to highschool math class (that I loved) and puts the info in a way I will never forget. I'm ready for this channel to EXPLODE as we move into the days of Smite 2.

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad you enjoyed it!! Hoping I’ll have enough experience to make decent smite 2 content by the time it gets big!

[@demifolk8940]

thank you for teaching me about protection and penetration, i am filled with your knowledge

[@corybishop3084]

Super comprehensive. Very well done. Only critique is that labeling on one of your graphs goes off the screen on the left hand side.

[@SmiteMaths]

Thanks! Yeah the animations are actually crazy to get perfect, it’s all done using code and loops so I couldn’t easily just change the bit that went of screen, thanks for the comment!

[@steedashifta]

Your videos are so amazing. From the research you put into them, to the delivery, and even the music in the background that makes them so intense, the vids are so entertaining. I am definitely a supporter, well done 👍

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it!

[@qlintproperly7584]

That was a wonderful video man, I've been playing smite since 2015 and this is the very first time I get time to understand how the game really works, not just going with the meta, it's very interesting how a decission like choosing what ability throw first can affect in such a significant way the damage a god can provoque. New subscriber, keep this quality going!

[@SmiteMaths]

Really glad you enjoyed it and learned something! Thanks for the kind words I appreciate it!

[@joeyreiss1150]

Another amazing video. Thank you for giving me an I depth guide I can share with my friends when they build charons over shard. Also very interesting to see how overcapping prots can make them more efficient the higher you go. Making characters like Chaac, Achilles, Mulan all much better especially paired with red stone to get some inane numbers.

[@doukyuuseii99]

Love all the info here, learned alot even though I thought I already knew a good deal about protections

[@christianerazo48]

What an awesome overview, brilliant job! :)

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@EternalNexxxx]

Bro can you please keep doing stuff like this I’m subscribing

[@SmiteMaths]

100%!

[@kryptictrojan9452]

Loved this video and explanation! Charts were amazing visuals and clearly explained. I really hope you do a similar thing for Smite 2 when it releases and the formulas are all set with specific god examples!

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Definitely making smite 2 videos soon!

[@DrJacobsMD]

A conclusion/summary at the end briefly summing up all the conclusions would be nice! Great video, though! Love when stuff is broken down with tangible values!

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah I agree, just wanted it out before I went on holiday😭 I’ll make a note of this, thanks for the comment!

[@Valerize.]

this earned a sub as a 10 year player its nice to see the number shown so well

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@HadeyanUtkan]

As a smite player (5-6 years) and a supp main, I'm glad that you made this vid, Now I can convince my carries that Pen is the most important, damage dealer stats. More than power and crit.

[@QMW220]

Unless your carry is an auto attack god

[@AndrewH1994]

@@QMW220 in which case they scale with AS and % pen anyways, so... still buy %pen as a carry. Executioner is one of the most stat efficient items an ADC can buy, as well as being useful for every other physical god on their team since it's %prot reduction and not actual penetration

[@LynR.M.1378]

Saw the video length and knew from your other videos that I would be in for a treat.

[@aewon2085]

Understatement

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad you enjoyed!!

[@stevesmith2259]

I like the inspiration from 3blue1brown

[@heranef3594]

For Anhur that's not just the autos that reduce the pen it's any spear he uses (auto/2/ult)

[@lnsatiabie4364]

consider doing a bunch of different videos on smite mechanics (like stats gained on level, stat caps, what affects movement speed, crowd controls and diminishing returns, etc etc). many of these things may be very simple or common knowledge relative to what youve performed in your existing videos, but youve got a nick for explaining things, and making an encyclopedia covering all the little stuff would be great for not only the smite community, but likely your channel, too.

[@SmiteMaths]

Definitely a good idea! I’ll definitely do this for smite 2, I might make some kind of “complete guide” for stuff like this. Thanks for the kind words and support I appreciate it!

[@DarrellBubb]

Thanks smite maths. Well explained and informative video !

[@SmiteMaths]

Thanks!!

[@МаксимКочетов-ж6э]

Спасибо, очень информативно. Давно ждал такой ролик. Наконец-то его создали. Удачи!

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you!

[@yerlikratostanerabi]

I quit smite years ago. But this guy deserves a full watch!

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Ssacred_]

This video is literally perfect

[@Ssacred_]

Ty algorithm for showing me this

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

[@stephanw0lf899]

Amazing explanation! Thank you!

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad it was helpful!

[@zachxy3108]

With 20 flat pen and 20% pen together in the same build, how is that calculated? Which comes first?

[@zx7t300]

Btw Anhur applies his passive with all his spear abilities too so his 2 and ult not just his autos.

[@EternalNexxxx]

Your channel is insane

[@SmiteMaths]

Thanks man!!

[@joegar47]

Great in depth video mate

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you!

[@ButFirstHeLitItOnFire]

Here’s a vid idea: WHAT IS… The maximum possible cooldown reduction in Smite 2 under the new cooldown system they have? I’m trying to play the game like it was Omnipotence

[@SmiteMaths]

Definitely a good idea! Already planning on making a smite2 cooldown video so I will definitely include this!

[@IcyyCold]

Sylvanus probably?

[@ChapterBro]

YOU THE GOAT FR FR 💯

[@nickschaeffler7878]

Bro you are such a stud for making this. Now how do i get my rando teammates to watch this?

[@noahginnett900]

About to watch it but i just pray i can carry this knowledge into smite 2

[@SmiteMaths]

So far you can! But things might change!

[@curses0z155]

Smite need you 🔥

[@zacharyreiner415]

I'm surprised you didn't touch on the fact that stacking damage sources aka yellow numbers is another way to maximize penetration. Kind of like how you split scaling and base damage for abilities. Adding on an item that creates another source has a similar effect. Also this makes me want to try buying potion of power early in more of my games.

[@SmiteMaths]

Hi yeah I thought about that, yellow damage essentially just adds to the base damage yeah, I was baring in mind video length etc. and it takes me 10s of hours to edit so I’ve gotta be mindful of time efficiency, for smite 2 I might make like a 3 hour video about everything but for now I thought I’d just cover the essentials, thanks for the comment!

[@hoouat]

Awesome stuff

[@Andrei-vo4eq]

I use Paul's builds, and I take down more tanks than backliners. I'm confident that the best player ever to touch the game understands penetration thoroughly.

[@jacobobos]

Could you add a graph for the effective health (how much damage it takes you slay you) . if i remember correctly it goes up linearly the more protections you buils

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah I’ve just had a comment about this, I’m going to make a part 2 to this video to explain a bit more about effective health

[@Kritaeee]

What is the cap for percent pen and flat pen? Are they not 40 %pen and 40 flat pen? Also good to add is the order in which penetration and protection reduction apply. I believe it is %reduction>flat reduction>%pen>flat pen. Combining %pen with flat pen is very strong.

[@BasedChadman]

50 flat for phys and 70 for magical 40% for both with an exception for the bonus of titan's bane and ob shard

[@BlackoTG]

I’m impressed such great work WOW!!!😮

[@SmiteMaths]

Thank you so much!

[@ycythraul]

Hoping for some new optimal adc builds following the new patch! With changed hp, items etc...

[@krillshadow9831]

my only curiosity is if you build both flat pen and percentage pen, which one gets calculated first when dealing damage, like 20 pen and 20% pen on a god. against a 100 proc god, would it be percentage first then flat or flat then percentage? EDIT: after a 10 second google search, percentage take priority first before flat pen.

[@aewon2085]

Now as a question: What does the actual full damage formula look like. As you showed a more expanded variant of the damage formula with the flat penetration section of the video By full formula I mean including Mitigation from items such as Oni Hunters, your pen values, the base damage+ scale amount+power and damage bonus like from Sacrificial shroud or Ravana Ultimate, I’ve never been able to find the actual full formula and I sorta would like to know it. I’m 1000% not trying to find a practical Scylla Ult 1 shot build against any Squishy and want to know what values I actually need to aim for

[@avthegreat1282]

Literally what you are asking for is a 5 hour discussion. I highly suggest you to watch the video few times play a few games watch it again and then wait two weeks and watch it again. But if you really need a Ravana build try this. Starter, jotuns, runeforge, arondite, serrated, and heart seeker

[@SmiteMaths]

Mmmm, off the top of my head it’s gotta be something like Sacraficial Shroud, Doom orb, book of Thoth, Desolation, obsidian shard, divine ruin? But definitely an interesting concept I might explore in another video! Thanks for the comment and ideas!

[@aewon2085]

@@avthegreat1282 not a 5 hour video, just literally what does the formula look like when it’s fully fleshed out. I can fill the numbers in on my own I know smite enough to do that

[@Jeraco24]

Aye 11k views way to go my guy

[@henrik2943]

This video is so cute, but It was needed. So many people outside of conquest who doesnt understand shit about items. Best is when they build healing items without playing healer. Or mystical mail last item etc

[@blurrymemes8490]

good stuff!

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad you liked it!

[@josuefernandez1029]

How about his cernunnos build?

[@PredicateCapeThe21St]

I think the only person I remember having maths behind penetration and stuff was Flareb00t but his stuff might not be up to date, I just remember reading "The Word of Thoth", nice video though, will you be doing this for Smite 2 too when that officially launches?

[@abbiemurray7898]

I’m hoping for Smite 2 vids from him too, fingers crossed 🤞🏼

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah smite 2 videos will be on the way, probably as soon as they go to 24/7 beta!

[@PredicateCapeThe21St]

@@SmiteMaths nice, will look forward to those!

[@lencivargas]

bro is teaching us to fish

[@Aequoris]

Worth noting that this is most important while facing enemy gods. It could be misleading to see this video and think "hey toxic blade is 15 flat pen and cheap! I should start that on Bellona solo and do way more damage than my opponent!" Minions (excluding oni and fire minions) have either no prots or very minimal prots, instead gaining percent damage reduction as the game goes on. Percent damage reduction isn't affected by pen, and you get way more damage to minions by building early power. (Also this is a PSA to every Hel I see using your dark stance 2 on the wave before hitting it. You're wasting your mana)

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah I guess toxic blade is a very niche example of an item with flat pen and no power, although I can’t say how good/bad it is without doing the math, probably wouldn’t recommend toxic blade first yeah, noted for my next videos!

[@unyanizedcatboys]

Just in time for smite 2 to change how all of this works 😭

[@SmiteMaths]

😂 excited to do the smite 2 analysis tbf!

[@tevinhernandez227]

with the recent 9.5 revert, has the build path changed much?

[@ymir4552]

I go for % pen with adcs pairing with crit for extra dmg. For mages I go a little bit of flat pen with some % pen for the supps. Most of the time I get the top dmg while my team feeds the whole game but at least I know I am doing good.

[@aewon2085]

Usually I full go flat pen on mages to insta kill the backline. Burst mages are not going to kill a tank so why bother focusing on that when you can effectively make it so if a squishy gets within range they don’t have HP anymore

[@Epii_E.V]

With the passive of the Titan's Bane, you can pass the 40% penetration cap.

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah I explained obsidian Shard which has the same passive instead of explaining both!

[@Epii_E.V]

@@SmiteMaths Oh, I'm sorry, I don't understand English very well, I didn't know you had explained it xd. mb

[@SmiteMaths]

@@Epii_E.V no worries :)

[@mochmaster45]

Can you please share your python code to calculate this? I want to try and adapt it to another game

[@SmiteMaths]

Hi :) I didn’t really write extensive python to get these results, I essentially just used it to do the maths for me for some results. Probably only wrote a couple of equation solvers for this.

[@nonoahnoz]

underantand

[@voxisaqt5721]

What better flat pen or percent pen. I’ve been wondering this for a while

[@BasedChadman]

He explained it It's situational, but flat is generally better against squishies while percent is better against tanks

[@kanokingdom3321]

You gunna do one for smite 2?

[@SmiteMaths]

Yes 100%

[@contrabandis]

What is scaling?

[@henrik2943]

Kids this is why Thanathos runs us over every game. He is a train made to steamroll

[@Asiabozz]

Wow, I learned something!

[@SmiteMaths]

Glad to hear it!!

[@graycicmanec4598]

are u able to go above 50% pen or is it capped?

[@SmiteMaths]

Capped at 40%, but obsidian shard and titans bane proc break this cap and so does Dominance :)

[@TomSweeney89]

Why am I here, I don't even play smite anymore.....

[@AnkitSingh-wq2rk]

Waited this guide for like from alpha lol ... Understanding power curve is brains for this game .. and penetrations plays the most important role

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah it’s really complicated but I’m hoping I can break these concepts down for old and new players!

[@gduck77will20]

Penatration is applied against scaling damage so therefore base damage + scaling = total damage then penatration is applied. So total damage is the only factor that matters.

[@SmiteMaths]

Total damage is the only factor that matters, but total damage is determined by base damage + scaling, so by extension, these 2 things are important factors as well. If you take an extreme example of a god with no scaling on an ability, you would only want to buy penetration on that god and no power, conversely if you had a god with 0 base damage and 1000% scaling, you would only want to maximise power on that god. So total damage depends on what you build and the scaling + base components of abilities. This can also be determined by just looking at the maths behind “how much power you’d need to make up for flat penetration”, as these calculations depend on pen, power, scaling and base damage, so the maths is telling you what damage depends on and how these stats contribute to that damage

[@aewon2085]

Great Video, now to go use this video to explain to my friends why I ALWAYS GO FOR MAX FLAT PEN ON MY MAGES I like true damage what can I say

[@ymir4552]

Do you remember the old spear of the magus? That shit was my favorite for burning gods like cotton. Sadly, they ruined spear.

[@SmiteMaths]

Yeah I’m pretty sure going flat pen is the best way to go for max damage against squishys, power is nice but not as good for damage!

[@aewon2085]

@@ymir4552 I swear they have forgotten about magus, no rework, no passive buffs or changes. So weird

[@BasedChadman]

The amount of percent pen in the game is simply not okay. We had mitigation builds to counter it at one point, but the devs nerfed that into the ground. Couple defense items having ZERO power on them now, and the value of defense is essentially null. Your entire build being dedicated to defense to have most core damage items with percent pen on them causing them to bypass 75% of your entire build while also dealinf percent hp with items like soul reaver / qin's makes tanking feel bad.

[@Etaiin]

this would’ve been really useful like, 4-5 years ago!!!!!

[@SmiteMaths]

Hahahaha yeah I wish I had this when i was younger, but this is all practice for me for smite 2!

[@GodFamilyGaming]

Keep making vids please

[@Hostobi]

TLDR as a dps always aim for 30% pen + some flat pen to do more dmg against squishies

[@KingStratzah]

Now remake it for smite 2 😊

[@jordydiez2174]

My brain hurts

[@tianshiwang4247]

Wow

[@Rionaran]

Content is dope. Constructive criticism: music too loud and distracting. hard to keep up with your words while hearing the music too.

[@SmiteMaths]

Noted! Thanks for the comment!

[@asianman5242]

Underatand lol

[@ShearDouchbaggery]

You do these videos for SMITE 2 and I'll give you more views

[@GTOUranus]

Background music too loud.

[@SmiteMaths]

Noted!

[@peacemonkey9213]

bro pulled out geoGeB-Ra

[@chubbyostrich]

Hi

[@necroneko8088]

and then smite 2 comes out and u need to make a second video lol.

[@souleraser5924]

So always build double flat pen shard,coin and reaveron mages lol

[@Marty13B]

You might be a few years too late with this video. They are already moving on to Smite 2

[@SmiteMaths]

Only reason i started this channel is because of smite 2, this is all practice in coding, maths, editing and explaining for me :)

[@tone2812]

Neeed this😅

[@toppo8091]

In conclusion, protections OP so please buy penetration. How do I send this to my teammates

[@CarbonRick_]

Cool and all but mitigations exist

[@SmiteMaths]

I thought about including mitigations, but because all mitigation items come with protections, it’s a bit harder to frame when exactly mitigations become most efficient over protections, and it also depends on how much pen the enemy has, it’s not really a massive topic and they’re not too complicated so I decided not to include them, but I’m making a part 2 of this video so I’ll include it then

[@CarbonRick_]

@@SmiteMaths Cool!

[@Mrhorribubble]

great guide but the music felt really out of place... like those stupid ghost documentaries

[@aewon2085]

He’s used it before so it’s just his explanation theme at this point

[@SmiteMaths]

I tried a few tracks, I wanted something gentle but I’ll try some others next time, thanks for the feedback I appreciate it

[@JaggerhasConnected]

Explain all you want my teammates will still be bots :)

[@larkeesewise8292]

facts felt this in my soul